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I notice nobody has asked the most important question of all: "HOW MANY BOTHANS DIED IN THE MAKING OF THIS MOVIE???"

Yeah, the fun of the magazine scene back then, that's what I miss the most. You might be tempted to think that it was a matter of the time though, and I couldn't disagree more. Calvin & Hobbes is over 30 years old now, and yet it still holds up brilliantly. I still find it fun to go back to re-read the old issues I still have, now and then. Eventually I'd like to re-read through my PSM collection... With Retro, I'm in the same boat you are. Once I get the last issue from year 2, I'm gonna sign up for their Patreon. I think it's admirable of them to put their own money into the magazine. Sure, it's obviously not the best business case (and why I don't run my own business), BUT it shows dedication, and that is something I appreciate behind anything I buy. Plus, reading it makes me want to go play some of the games featured, sometimes again, sometimes for the first time. Isn't that what a great gaming magazine is all about?

Kiwi, is Future a UK based publisher? I've noticed that the UK Playstation is still going strong, but part of what I always liked about PSM and later PTOM was its writers and editors, it always had a sense of humor. Phil, I dunno if we'd ever see a magazine as thick as 90's EGM ever again, simply because half of that magazine was advertising. Honestly though, I enjoyed the ads a good deal. Sometimes a game didn't get the coverage unless the developer paid for the advertising. Not that the magazine wouldn't cover a game UNLESS they took out ad space, but rather they didn't know about it otherwise... Plus some of those ads were darn clever. Think a magazine would be so content filled with the backing of a giant like Wal-Mart? I'd have trouble looking past any bias, myself, same issue with Game Informer, but I like that idea better than just letting it all disappear. I've been reading through Retro lately. Initially I just liked the idea of supporting a magazine with a focus on older systems, so I subscribed. It was supposed to be bi-monthly, but in what seems to be a bit of a trend, that goal was, optimistic. I wasn't gonna resubscribe, but now they're doing a Patreon style funding, so you don't get charged until they're ready to ship an issue. I like that idea better, so nobody ends up with lots of issues left on a sub that will never be filled. Plus, the magazine itself is well written and on nice thick paper, so I'm content.

Kiwi, PC Gamer (US) is still going as far as I am aware. I guess it kinda makes sense that Future shut down PTOM, most of the games coming out in the current generation would be coming out on PC as well, so... why have two magazines covering the same content? I didn't know Future bought Imagine... that's unfortunate in a way. Competition drives quality, and if we're down to only one publisher who puts out gaming magazines for current systems, I could see mags in general going downhill.

I think you have a good idea there with the Wal-Mart thing there, similar to how Game Informer is tied in with Gamestop. A question though... would you be willing to pay $5-6 per issue of a gaming mag? As in newsstand price? Part of the appeal of subscribing was the reduced rate of the magazine... Personally, I would, but I also have a bit more disposable income than I did when I was younger. So we're down to PC Gamer being the only gaming mag from the 90's that is still publishing. Anyone think that they will ever stop putting issues out?

Nintendo was always a bit of an innovator. Look at their controllers, for example. Aside from the GC not really bringing anything "new" (aside from being the most comfortable controller to date) to the table, all their controllers have shaken things up a bit compared to their contemporary competitors. As someone who worked for Blockbuster during the PS2 era, I can say with confidence that I loved those little GC discs. They were nearly indestructible compared to the CD / DVD formats that PS2 and Xbox used, and from a durability perspective, few discs will see the sort of abuse a rented game did. As for all the computer talk there bud, you might as well be speaking Latin to me. I understand a very tiny amount, but not enough to have a conversation. Glad that OLED is starting to become more affordable, hopefully other manufacturers will start developing their own displays so it becomes the common tech.

Was sarcasm bud. I haven't bought a game since Gran Turismo 6 came out back in... 2013, I think it was. Not exactly the target audience for cutting edge systems like I might have been 20 years ago. It's funny, I quit buying games when they first came out, simply because it got to a point that I couldn't afford to do so. Perhaps I should say that I decided to put my expendable income into other hobbies, and eventually more adult pursuits such as a house. Yet I still play games, and wouldn't you know it, even a game that is many years old, on dated hardware, can still be a delightful experience.

You know, I was gonna upgrade the PC (it is ten years old, aside from the main drive and ram), and thought about picking up a PS4, but man, you guys have SOLD me on the Switch. I think I'm gonna blow all that upgrade money on about six of the fancy Nintendos... need one for the bathroom, ya know.

You know, Family Circus is about the least offensive comic I can think of. As in, takes no risks. Yet, occasionally it does strike me as a bit funny. Anyone else grow up reading the comics, then suddenly finding yourself reading the rest of the paper too?

Quite interesting, I wouldn't have really considered it like that. Different culture there perhaps? I've seen plenty of grown adults playing games on their phones. Not too many that have portable systems though, certainly not as many do their gaming at home. Man, the best part about PC gaming? Is that you have the opportunity to constantly tinker with your hardware, upgrading every thing that someone deems inferior. Don't get me started on the planned obsolescence, that's just the icing on the cake. I can't tell you how many times I've had my computer opened up to repair or replace components. I can tell you how many times I've ever opened a PS3 though, and that is precisely once, to put a larger hard drive in it. Didn't even need to, just wanted to. Jake, I think you miss the point about why folks enjoy console gaming. We can come home, turn on the system, and everything works as it should, 99% of the time, if not more. It's significantly more reliable a platform (literally, any console platform), and most people I think would rather play a game than spend time tinkering with settings or drivers or hardware or patches, etc... Don't get me wrong, I understand the tinkering mindset. I had a perfectly good Toyota Supra. Then I tore it into thousands (not kidding) of pieces, cleaned it all off, found and fixed small issues, and upgraded a whole lot of things in the process. So, don't misunderstand, I get where you come from, as a PC enthusiast. However, much like people like consoles so they can reliably play games, I prefer to drive my cars, rather than work on them. Even if efforts spent working on them makes them a better experience and me a more skilled owner.

Eh, as long as I have a means to play Worms games, I'm good either way. Search me, but I don't think I care what everyone else is playing... I tore apart and built a car this year. I learned the basics of welding, and have started making some simple art with metal. I'm debating making an attempt at learning guitar, to see if my fingers are good for more than picking my nose. Yet here I am commenting in a random thread about gaming hardware... strange.

Pot, your kettle is black... Just kidding Jake. I didn't realize fanboys were still a thing. Even back in the 16 bit days, my friends and I had different systems, but we all played games and appreciated that we could experience the range that was available. What was the point of this thread again?

Still working on Gran Turismo 6, just cleared the IB racing league, and earned all golds on the IA license tests. Something about trying to be competitive while driving a Can-Am car without any driver aids such as traction control sure sharpens the skills a bit, since I nailed all but one IA license test on my first or second try... That said, IA looks to be full of some fairly good challenges ahead. We'll see if this is where I peak, or if I'll be able to take on the S-class races with any skill.

Surely we're talking about gaming magazines only, right? Surely, since I could probably name off a dozen magazines that have been around longer than my gray haired face has been haha. As for EGM... anyone think they could do justice to a retro-themed quarterly? I've been reading through Retro, and while I appreciate the content, the release schedule is abysmal. EGM was great in the 90's, why not do a mix of what they had then and reprint excerpts of articles, with a little bit about why that matters now in retrospective, that sort of thing?

First off, for me to truly appreciate any improvements in graphic capability of ANY system, I would first need to upgrade my TV. Traditionally I've upgraded every 6 years, which gives me a nice per year cost versus technology improvement ratio. However, I've had the current TV since mid-2009, and keep in mind that I can't afford top shelf $8000 TV's, I tend to keep in the $1000-2000 range as budget allows. Only reason I'm holding off, for now, is that the current Sony I rather like, and I'm waiting for OLED in a large size (thinking 55"+ for the main room) to fall somewhere in my typical budget. On the subject of Nintendo specifically, portability makes sense for just about anyone not living in North America. I played my original Gameboy for HOURS while we drove around as a kid. Road trips were a mix of reading during the day, and Gameboy (with a flip up magnifying lens / light attachment) at night. Now as an adult, I drive when I need to get somewhere. If I lived somewhere that public transport was viable, I'd be all OVER handheld systems. The DS library was full of great titles that I've never played, simply by virtue of being the pilot rather than passenger. So, a focus on portable gaming makes plenty of financial sense to me. On that note, I haven't played a Nintendo console with any regularity since the Gamecube. I loved that little purple cube, and although I own a Wii, I never really got into it all that much. Aside from a handful of games over the years, this last generation (as well as the current and future ones), I've lost a lot of interest in gaming. Could it be simply coincidence that not playing Nintendo games and a lack of interest in gaming in general happened to me? Hmmm... I wonder. The Wii U did seem like quite the concept, but I never picked one up, due to my "meh" feelings about the Wii. On the subject of Nintendoland, isn't that part of Disney or Universal Studios? If so, they hardly opened their own theme park... and even if they did open their own standalone park, I guarantee you that's funded through investors that could give two figs about gaming in any sense, they're all about your nostalgia, and how they can part you from your money because of it.

I can only imagine how strong a circular launch pad like that would have to be in order to be used for a shuttle. Seems like it would be an efficient use of space though.

Daven000, you bring up open world designs, and that kinda makes me realize that I really enjoy the worlds in the GTA series. They may not entirely consist of "levels" in the traditional sense, but when you're playing them, there is a fluidity of the experience that would be hard for another player to replicate. Some of the "did you see that?!" moments that happen in these sorts of games are riotous.

Thanks, I appreciate the heads up. I think I could probably manage with that then, and I don't mind a challenge now and then. On the one hand, I would say that you have a really good point about the adventuresome spirit that developers used to have, I think we're starting to see that once again. Modern indie games can be quite a lot of fun. I would point to the Batman Arkham games as a good example of bringing some fresh ideas to the gaming world, and taking a big chance to do so. Mirror's Edge, while beautiful to watch someone else play, was kinda frustrating for me. Just something about first person platforming that never sat well with me. Ironic then, that the Portal series are a couple of my favorite games...

Perhaps they're waiting on their Pontiac postal vehicles. Or was that Saab? Wait, no, it was Fisker... no, no, I'm sorry, Oldsmobile, definitely Oldsmobile.

Part of me laughed at first... then I realized that they would be at the top of the list of who you'd want to be doing that sort of work. Fun (and terrifying) as that sounds, I think I'll just hire the folks who do the makeup for the Walking Dead show.

-What is an NES 2? -Never underestimate the Playstation, if history is an indication... -However, Sony's hardware has played a large role in what direction entertainment consumption goes (i.e. CD based gaming systems, DVD usage skyrocketing post-PS2, Bluray with PS3 effectively killing HD-DVD, etc), so Microsoft might be on to something if they include 4k BD compatibility. -Rural internet sucks, so if I can get something on a disk, I prefer to get something on a disk. Oooh, my new TV can display 4k stuff that I can stream off Netflix? Fantastic, think my 16mbps connection (on an absolutely ideal day) can show me that? I can barely stream 720 most days...

Heh, if you haven't beat it yet, good luck. I find that my gaming skills were FAR sharper as a kid than they are these days. Probably just a matter of where I dedicate my time though... I have a bigger variety of hobbies these days. That said, stick to it, and you'll get there eventually bud.

Oh how I wish I could. Even staring at the TV when this game came out was almost enough to make you nauseous. Perhaps that is a good thing though, that it felt natural enough to elicit motion sickness... Had to look up Omega Boost. Was not aware that it was made by Polyphony Digital... makes it from what I understand, to be the only non-racing game they made. Also, Driver was one heck of a game, the thrill of being involved in a heist with solid driving mechanics, I loved it. The follow up series, Stuntman, however, can go jump off a cliff. There's hard, then there's Dark Souls. Then, over in the corner, picking on Dark Souls for being such a softy, is Stuntman. I swear, most difficult game I've ever played that was legitimately fair at the same time. As for your RPG list, very solid... played half of them, aware of the other half. I have Alundra, but never got around to playing it. It's 2d PS1, so I assume it holds up nicely? Rollcage sounded familiar, but I had to look it up. Thought at first that it looked kinda like Wipeout... then I saw who developed it. Makes sense haha. I seem to recall playing it, I think my friend Bryon rented it once. Kinda surprised that Colony Wars never made it past the PS1, there was some serious potential there, and they were well made games. On a note of personal reflection, I realized the other day why the PS1 era means so much to me. Not just the games, but the TV of the time, the magazines, the music, the mid to late 90's culture in general... I know now why that time holds such a special place in my heart. I was dealing with some pretty serious depression back then. Moved 1000 miles from home, leaving all my friends and familiar places behind, to a new school, home, and state, it all threw me off. On top of that, being in that elementary to middle school to high school transition and the awkwardness that comes of growing up... and mixed in with all that? I lost my best friend to a hit and run accident, and my grandma to a short bout with cancer, all within a couple months of each other. That era's gaming, music, and tv culture sticks with me so much today, because it helped me cope with all the rough times that life threw my way back then. I find it interesting now then, to weed out what was truly good about that era of our culture, from the "had to be there" sort of stuff. Sharing games that hold up with people who never had the chance to play them is a lot of fun for me... guess that probably explains a good part of why I'm here, on this forum, doesn't it?

Oh, I completely understand the WHY behind why our oceans remain a mystery, I just find it infinitely more interesting (and potentially useful) than space exploration. Perhaps due to the very finite nature of our planet. On the topic of space however, and back to my point of getting supplies for a waypoint to Mars, I think I may have an idea for a solution. Now, the issue with rockets is a combination of the conservation of energy and diminishing returns. See, a rocket needs a certain amount of fuel in order to escape earth's gravitational pull, plus however much fuel it needs to get to where it is going. Problem then lies with the fact that fuel is a payload, and a rocket can only have so much payload. How do you increase the payload? More power! Except... more power requires more fuel. Remember, objects in motion tend to remain in motion, objects at rest tend to remain at rest. It requires an enormous amount of energy to propel a rocket into space. Once it gets there, fuel requirements are quite small. However, getting that 100,000 lb object off the ground, just to start with... that takes a lot of energy. If I recall, the vast majority of fuel payload that a rocket can carry is merely to get it past the 60k altitude. So, I don't see the current technology being of much use for transporting traditional fuel into space for other travelers to use. Now here's where it gets interesting. Ever been on or seen Superman, the Universal Studios ride? Replace the passenger sled with a shuttle / rocket, and scale it to size. Using what is essentially rail gun technology, I think you could get a spacecraft to some fairly respectable speeds, enough so that the fuel requirement to escape orbit would be significantly lower... Might even be able to launch a craft into space without needing any fuel of its own to get there, provided you had enough space and enough power in the magnets.